The “Critical Roadmap to Performance Excellence for Thai Logistics Service Providers”, is being spearheaded by the Office of Service Trade Promotion of DITP.

The department recognises the importance of improving operational performance of Thai logistics service providers to compete internationally. It aims to enable Thai logistics services providers and international trading firms to improve their performance through know-how and best practices shared through the seminar.

Guest speakers will be invited from leading logistics organisations in Thailand for the seminar’s discussion session. They will share their best practices and experiences in logistics management at the level of international standards.

The best practices cover seven aspects of excellence in logistics management: corporate vision and leadership, strategic planning, customers and a market focus, use of IT for logistics, human resources, logistics operation management and logistics business results.

The seminar will be held on March 29-30 at the Galleria Ballroom in the Sukhumvit Hotel.

Since its launch in November 2017, the Asean Green Bond Standards have gained encouraging traction and there have been three issuances from Malaysia and Singapore carrying the Asean Green Bond label. The first sovereign sukuk in Asean issued by Indonesia is aligned with the Asean Green Bond Standards, according to Securities and Exchange Commission, Thailand release on Wednesday.

The progress of the Asean Green Bond Standards demonstrates the region’s increasing emphasis on sustainable financing and underscores the capacity of the Asean Green Bond Standards in providing guidance to issuers on issuing green bonds and investors with a credible reference point.

The meeting also welcomed the hosting of the first ACMF Asean Green Bond Standards roundtable by the State Securities Commission of Vietnam (SSC Viet Nam) to engage with market participants including banks, securities firms and fund management companies, on the adoption of the Asean Green Bond Standards. Similar ACMF roundtables will be held throughout the region to raise awareness as well as to encourage greater adoption of the Asean Green Bond Standards.

The ACMF also agreed to carry out a series of engagements with market participants on further developing the cross border offering of Asean collective investment schemes (CIS) to complement the recently enhanced Asean CIS framework.

The ACMF commended the pilot initiative to connect the stock markets of Malaysia and Singapore which could act as a template for future connectivity among Asean stock markets.

The situation will not likely escalate into a trade war, it said on Thursday.

However, it said, Washington’s latest moves, which will cost around $60 billion in Chinese imported products, may indirectly affect supply chains and exports in East Asia, including Thailand.

In the short term, Thai exports at risk may include computer accessories and parts, electrical appliances and mobile-phone components – which are major products within Chinese supply chains.

Furthermore, Thailand is also at risk of being on the list of US trade partners meeting US criteria on exchange-rate manipulation.

This implies that Thai policymakers may have their hands tied in manoeuvring foreign-exchange policy, which may prompt the baht to rise swiftly in value and take a volatile course.

It is also possible that the US could implement protectionist measures against Thai products. The situation merits close monitoring.

KResearch maintains its export growth forecast for 2018 at 4.5 per cent, given that Thai shipments posted double-digit growth in January and February.

The uptick was seen in major export categories and markets, suggesting that Thailand’s outward trade is largely supported by global demand.

If this factor lasts for the remainder of 2018, it is expected that Thai exports will grow perhaps more than 4.5 per cent.

KResearch has decided to keep its export growth forecast steady at 4.5 per cent, given the US decision to slap import tariffs on washing machines, solar panels, steel and aluminium, already in effect, its plans to raise import tariffs on Chinese goods worth some $60 billion beginning in mid-May, and anticipated pressure on the baht if Thailand is labelled a currency manipulator.

KResearch expects the Thai economy to grow 4 per cent in 2018, driven by exports, tourism and investment, amid risk factors in global trade.

The export sector continues to expand, thanks to steady world economic expansion. Tourism and public and private investments will be catalysts for Thai economic growth.

The enforcement of the Government Procurement and Supplies Management Act may, to a certain extent, delay disbursement of the government’s investment budget, but an acceleration of budget spending during the remaining fiscal year is projected to give a boost, while private investment should benefit from the government’s investment projects.

Launched in September 2013, this ambitious initiative aims to improve overland and maritime links between China and the rest of Asia, as well as Europe, the Middle East and Africa. It spans more than 65 countries, which together account for 29 per cent of global GDP and 63 per cent of the world’s population. Four-and-a-half years on, the multi-billion dollar plan is taking shape around the world. An increasing number of projects are moving from planning to implementation, including the Vakhdat-Yovon railway crossing the Central Asian hinterland, to Kunming–Singapore railway connecting China to Southeast Asia, the Hungary-Serbia railway through the heart of Eastern Europe, the Addis Ababa–Djibouti Railway stretching across the hinterland of Africa, as well as Gwadar Port in Pakistan and Piraeus Port in Greece join the junction of the Silk Road on sea and land. The initiative has entered regions as far as New Zealand, Britain and even the Arctic.

These infrastructure investments are allowing China to be more connected with its trading partners than ever. Two-way trade between China and countries along the Belt and Road exceeded 7.4 trillion yuan (around US$1.2 trillion) in 2017, surging 17.8 per cent year on year. Over time, the initiative will act as a catalyst for further commercial opportunities along newly invigorated transport routes.

There has been real progress in developing the financing platforms needed to implement the next stages of the initiative. China’s four major state-owned commercial banks have lent a combined $150 billion up to the end of 2016, over half of all current Belt and Road lending. Beijing has set up several financing vehicles, allocating $50 billion to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, $41 billion to the New Development Bank and $40 billion to the Silk Road Fund. The country is also using green financing (including bonds, loans, insurance and securities) as a way of supporting Belt and Road projects. Around $30 billion of green bonds were issued by China last year – more than one-fifth of the global total, and up from just $1 billion in 2015.

The Belt and Road Initiative could help China capture the higher end of the global value chain. Beijing considers its high-speed railway technology to be the jewel in the crown of its advanced manufacturing industry, and China is home to around 60 per cent of the world’s total constructed high-speed railways. If countries along the Belt and Road embrace Chinese high-speed railway technology, it could become the de facto standard across a vast geographical area.

There are digital opportunities, too. China envisions incorporating the telecommunications and e-commerce sectors into the Belt and Road Initiative. This “Digital Silk Road” would help small and medium-sized enterprises further engage in the global supply chain and reach out to international markets. China’s internet giants are already making notable investments in the Southeast Asia across the e-commerce, digital payment, ride-sharing and on-demand transportation sectors.

The Belt and Road Initiative has the potential to transform China’s domestic economy and the global economy over the next decade. Business leaders should be primed and ready to get involved.

Contributed by PETER WONG, Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 2.9 percent to 7,008.81.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.4 percent to 23,857.71, while the broad-based S&P 500 shed 1.7 percent 2,612.62.

Analysts pointed to a cascade of negative stories surrounding leading technology names, including Facebook, Tesla Motors and Twitter.

“You’ve got large cap tech that led this downdraft,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities.

“Once this market starts in a direction like this, you’re not going to see anybody step in and catch a falling knife.”

Tuesday’s losses set the market back on the red after Monday’s brief surge. Stocks also fell sharply on Thursday and Friday on worries about President Donald Trump’s trade policies, but those fears have receded somewhat in the last couple of days.

Facebook dropped 4.9 percent as the social media company continued to face scrutiny over a customer data scandal. Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg turned down a request by British lawmakers to appear in Parliament but reportedly agreed to testify at a US congressional hearing.

Tesla slumped 8.2 percent after the National Transportation Safety Board announced it was investigating a fatal crash last week involving a Tesla automobile in California.

Twitter dived 12.0 percent after a report from Citron Research warned the company was vulnerable to a regulatory crackdown over its data privacy policies. Citron is known for placing bets on stock price falls.

Google parent Alphabet sank 4.6 percent after a US appeals court revived Oracle’s lawsuit alleging that Google owed billions of dollars in damages over the search engine company’s use of Java programming language in its Android smartphone operating system. Oracle lost 2.4 percent.